


PRINCIPLES 



OF 



RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY 



By abbot edes smith 



FIFTY CENTS A COPY 



PRINCIPLES 



OF 



RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY 



By abbot EDES SMITH 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 

MINNEAPOLIS. MINNESOTA, U. S. A. 
1916 



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Copyright, 1916 
By abbot EDES SMITH 

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JAN -8 19(7 

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PREFACE 

This is an introduction of the religious phil- 
osophy on which the author has been working 
for years, being based upon the mathematically 
essential relation between the Infinite and the 
finite. It breaks the barrier separating science 
from religion and establishes a firm foundation 
on which can rest securely all that is true and 
good and permanent in every system of phil- 
osophy and of religion. 

While this treatise is mostly argumentative 
and theoretical, the principles herein estab- 
lished can be applied practically, not only 
towards the attainment of man's ultimate goal 
of infinity and perfection, but also in the or- 
dinary affairs and interests of daily life. The 
practical side of the subject, with other impor- 
tant theoretical details, will be presented in 
the future. 

ABBOT EDES SMITH 
Minneapolis, November 15, 1916 



ERRATUM 

Page 22 — Omit from "can" in line 3 to "infinity" in line 
5 inclusive. 



PRINCIPLES OF RELIGIOUS 
PHILOSOPHY 



IS life chemical reaction? If so, does this dis- 
prove God and immortality? Is birth the 
beginning and death the end of conscious exist- 
ence? Is man, as it were, a bubble appearing 
but for a moment in the vast Ocean of Being, 
only to disappear in unconsciousness, merged 
in the universal Cosmos? 

That life begins from and grows by mate- 
rial evolution alone ; that consciousness is only 
a temporary phase of material motion or vi- 
bration, ending when the motion or vibration 
ceases; that individual life is nothing but a 
mode of material action, which ends in death: 
— from the earliest times, these theories have 
been held by many philosophers and scientists, 
and have been applied by some not only to 
vegetable life, and to the lower forms of ani- 
mal life, but also to the higher animals and to 
man. 

For nearly half a century, many prominent 
scientists have been investigating the spon- 
taneous generation of life from inorganic mat- 
ter and the artificial production and reproduc- 



2 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

tion of life by purely chemical processes. It 
has now been reported that all this has been 
proved to be possible by the actual and re- 
peated experiments of some of the leading 
scientists of modern times. Certain of these 
scientists state that the experiments do not 
apply to human life, because man has a soul; 
but such statements are merely personal opin- 
ions and are in no sense a logical conclusion 
from the experiments nor even a necessary in- 
ference. Among the experiments so reported 
may be mentioned the three following : 

Hundreds of test-tubes containing a solution 
of sodium silicate either with phosphoric acid 
and ammonic phosphate or with pernitrate 
of iron were sealed and heated to a temperature 
of 100 to 135 degrees Centigrade, which is sup- 
posed to destroy all life. The contents of those 
test-tubes which were opened immediately af- 
ter being so heated having been then examined 
under the most powerful microscopes were 
found to be without any trace of life ; while in 
those test-tubes which after being so heated 
were kept from six to twelve months at a mod- 
erate temperature microscopes sufficiently 
powerful almost always revealed life, which, 
although of the most primitive vegetable type, 
had in every instance the power of reproduc- 
tion and of multiplication. 

The unfertilized eggs of a frog, when treated 
with frog's blood and a salt solution and acid 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 3 

fat from rancid butter, developed into tad- 
poles which later became frogs. 

A female guinea-pig, impregnated by hav- 
ing injected into her an artificial solution of 
salts with an acid similar to malic acid, gave 
birth to three guinea-pigs, one of which lived. 
Tissues removed from a human body and im- 
mersed in a solution identical with the one 
used in this experiment lived and grew. 

Since the forms of life developed in the 
test-tube experiment were always of the very 
lowest type, therefore this and other similar 
experiments, if scientifically performed and if 
correctly reported, prove only that the pro- 
duction or generation of the lowest types of 
life is sometimes and hence may be always a 
purely chemical process. 

The frog experiment and the guinea-pig ex- 
periment, if scientifically performed and if cor- 
rectly reported, prove that the process of repro- 
duction in some of the higher animals is some- 
times and hence may be always a purely chem- 
ical process. The inference is natural that the 
same may be true of reproduction in all ani- 
mals, including man. If, then, the reproduc- 
tion of life is sometimes and hence may be 
always a purely chemical process, why may 
not the primal origin, production, and gener- 
ation of all life, whether vegetable, animal, 
or human, be solely a chemical process? Does 
not this disprove God? If, moreover, all life. 



4 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

whether vegetable, animal, or human, is only 
a chemical compound, and if all the functions 
of life, including thought and consciousness, 
are merely phases of chemical reaction, does 
it not follow that, when the chemical reac- 
tion ceases, consciousness and life end? Does 
not this disprove conscious immortality? 

God and immortality being thus banished 
from the world, what becomes of religion? 
The brotherhood of men and animals still re- 
mains, but a man's work is limited to a brief 
lifetime, and after that for him — nothing. 

Is there a God? Is there for man conscious 
life, personal immortality beyond the grave? 
By their answers to these questions men may 
be divided into four classes. 

The conservative philosopher and religion- 
ist answer these questions positively in the af- 
firmative and maintain that this answer ex- 
presses absolute truth beyond the shadow of a 
doubt. 

The conservative agnostic maintains that he 
does not know with certainty the answer to 
these questions, but he believes that the af- 
firmative answer expresses the probable truth. 

The radical agnostic maintains that he does 
not know and that no man ever in this world 
can know the true answer to these questions, 
it being wholly beyond human ken. 

The atheist answers both these questions in 
the negative and maintains that this answer 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 5 

expresses absolute truth beyond the shadow 
of a doubt. 

In the minds of thoughtful men faith in 
God and hope of conscious immortality have 
been weakened, if not lost, by the experiments 
and the line of reasoning above described, to 
which no adequate answer has yet been made. 
No answer can fairly be deemed adequate, 
except upon the basis of scientific reasoning. 
The materialist must be met, if at all, on his 
own plane, where nothing is recognized but 
that which the senses show and which reason 
approves ; and if such an answer can be found 
on the plane of materialism, it will be con- 
clusive. It will convince not only the con- 
servative agnostic, but also the radical agnos- 
tic and the atheist; and even the conservative 
philosopher and religionist will rejoice to have 
the fundamentals of his philosophy and of his 
religion firmly established upon a solid foun- 
dation where religion, philosophy, and science 
can stand together. 

First, then, none of the experiments above 
described can have even the slightest bearing 
upon the question of the existence of God. 
If there should be a God as a creative and 
governing Power, neither the highest heat nor 
the lowest cold known to man, nor the most 
tightly sealed test-tube, nor any other human 
safeguard nor limitation could exclude his in- 
finite presence, his infinite power, his infinite 
law, for always back of everything there 



6 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

would still be the infinite First Cause. The 
most, therefore, that can logically and sci- 
entifically be claimed as proved by the above 
experiments is that such and such conclusions 
follow, if there be no God. 

Secondly, science in its application to mat- 
ter has always been, not absolute, but experi- 
mental. Science has discovered facts and in- 
vented theories and formulated laws, which 
have been generally and even universally ac- 
cepted, because these theories and laws ex- 
plained known facts and helped to discover new 
facts. Then science discovered new facts and 
invented new >theories and formulated new 
laws, which, the old being discarded, were 
accepted tentatively, because they better ex- 
plained known facts and better helped to dis- 
cover new facts. Chemistry has been no ex- 
ception to the rule, for its theories and laws 
about matter, the organic arid the inorganic, 
the elementary and the compound, and about 
molecules, atoms, centres of force, and so 
forth, have changed from generation to gen- 
eration, like the theories and laws of other 
sciences. Supposed facts, theories, and laws, 
which have been accepted as absolute and 
final, have been discarded and have been 
superseded by other supposed facts, theories, 
and laws, which in turn were accepted, only 
to be themselves discarded on the discovery 
of still other facts and on the invention of 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 7 

still other theories and on the formulation of 
still other laws. 

Nevertheless, tentatively, experimentally, 
solely for the purposes of the argument, in 
order that the subject may be approached from 
the standpoint of those who recognize only 
that which the senses show and which rea- 
son approves, let it be admitted that all life, 
whether vegetable, animal, or human, is only 
chemical action and reaction, whose produc- 
tion and reproduction, whose activities and 
functions, including thought and conscious- 
ness, are only chemical processes, material mo- 
tion and vibration : the questions at once arise, 
What of it ? How can this have even the slight- 
est influence on faith in God and on the hope 
of a conscious, personal immortality beyond 
the grave? 

Suppose that a stone is thrown into the 
ocean and lies inert, lifeless, at the bottom of 
the water. What becomes of the waves and 
vibrations which it produced during its activ- 
ity, as it passed through the water? Do these 
waves and vibrations cease, because that 
which produced them lies inert and lifeless? 
Science answers. No, it matters not what pro- 
duced these waves and vibrations, it matters 
not what becomes of that which produced 
these waves and vibrations: by the law of 
conservation of energy no force can ever be 
lost, and hence these waves and vibrations 
must go on forever. Though unseen by the 



8 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

senses, reason, the highest humein faculty, rec- 
ognizes and knows their continued existence. 

Suppose, then, that a human life with all 
its activities and functions, including thought 
and consciousness, is the result solely of chem- 
ical processes and that what is called death is 
the cessation of those processes. Does this 
human life cease when the chemical processes 
which produced it no longer act but have 
come to an end? Science must answer em- 
phatically. No, the law of conservation of en- 
ergy applies to the highest and most complex 
force just as truly as to the lowest and most 
simple. It matters not that human life may 
have descended from an animal, from a fish, 
from protoplasm; it matters not that human 
life is the product solely of chemical proces- 
ses : by these forces, by these chemical proces- 
ses, there has been evolved and now exists 
an acting, living, thinking, reasoning, self- 
conscious entity, identity, called man; and 
when these creating forces, Ithese chemical 
processes, come to an end in what is called 
death, the man himself, the acting, living, 
thinking, reasoning, self-conscious entity, 
identity, though unseen by the senses, is rec- 
ognized and known by reason, the highest hu- 
man faculty, to continue his existence after 
death. No force can ever be lost. 

To this it may be answered that, as the 
activity of the stone is not lost but is fully 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 9 

expended and wholly exhausted in producing 
its full equivalent in waves and vibrations; 
and that, as the various chemical reactions and 
processes involved are not lost but are fully 
expended and wholly exhausted in producing 
their full equivalent in a human life with all 
its activities and functions including thought 
and consciousness : so the acting, living, think- 
ing, reasoning, self-conscious entity, identity, 
called man, is not lost when his activities, his 
life, his thought, his reason, his self-conscious- 
ness, come to an end in what is called death; 
for during his lifetime he has emitted and 
given to the world thoughts, good or bad, he 
has done in the world deeds, good or bad, he 
has exerted in the world influences, good or 
bad, he has discovered and revealed to the 
world truths hitherto unknown, he has be- 
gotten and brought up children, and all these 
thoughts, deeds, influences, children, and so 
forth, become a permanent part of the world's 
thought, force, life, and consciousness, and 
continue in his place and stead, when, having 
fully expended and wholly exhausted himself 
in producing his full equivalent in thoughts, 
deeds, influences, children, and so forth, he 
himself lies pulseless, cold, inanimate, and 
dead. 

The reply to this answer is clear and conclu- 
sive. When the stone's activity produces 
waves and vibrations, the process is not crea- 
tion, but the change of one kind of force into 



lo Principles of Religious Philosophy 

another, its full equivalent, so that of neces- 
sity the first ends when the second is pro- 
duced. So, too, when the various chemical 
reactions and processes involved produce a hu- 
man life with all its varied activities and func- 
tions including thought and consciousness, the 
process is not creation, but the change of one 
kind of force into another, its full equivalent, 
so that of necessity the first ends, in each 
instance, as the second is produced. 

When, however, an acting, living, thinking, 
reasoning, self-conscious entity, identity, called 
man, is produced, evolved, or created, no mat- 
ter how or whence he came to exist, and when 
this man does deeds, thinks thoughts, exerts 
influences, discovers truths hitherto unknown, 
engages in any of the normal human activities, 
in business life, in social life, in domestic life, 
in political life, in military life, in literature, in 
art, in music, in invention, in scientific re- 
search, in philosophical investigation, in a hu- 
manitarian and religious life of self-sacrifice, 
his deeds, his thoughts, his influences, his in- 
ventions, his discoveries, all his varied achieve- 
ments, do not make him less of a man but 
more of a man, do not take his place and 
exist instead of him, but exist in addition to 
the man himself, who by what he has thought, 
lived, and done, is not diminished but has in- 
creased in all that makes a true man, and 
though physically disabled he may yet be more 
of "A man for a' that". A man is sui generis. 



Principles of Religious Philosophy ii 

he does not change into his deeds, his 
thoughts, his influences, his inventions, his 
discoveries, his achievements, as one force 
changes into another ; the process is rather one 
of creation, so that the man and his creations 
continue to exist together. If, therefore, a bul- 
let, an accident, the "Forces of Nature", or 
the so-called "Act of God", strike him dead, or 
if a willing martyr to the cause to which he 
has devoted his life he is killed, a human life, 
the highest force of this finite world, is an- 
nihilated and conservation of energy is proved 
to be no law, unless man continues to live 
after death, an acting, living, thinking, rea- 
soning, self-conscious entity, identity; and this 
proves death to be only a change, a gateway to 
conscious and immortal life beyond the grave. 

What is the nature of man's life after death 
and what is his ultimate destiny? These 
questions cannot be satisfactorily answered, 
until it is finally determined whether there 
is a God and, if so, what is his essential na- 
ture and what is his law or mode of action. 
As herein before explained, these subjects 
must be approached from the standpoint of 
those who r^ecognize only that which the 
senses show and which reason approves. First, 
then, what do the senses show of God? 

The thoughtful man sees everywhere around 
him, in the animal world, in the vegetable 
world, in the mineral world, and throughout 
the universe, numberless utilities, things won- 



12 Principles of Religions Philosophy 

derfully adapted to produce something good 
and useful and cooperating together harmo- 
niously to produce such beneficent result. Even 
Francis Hartmann, the German philosopher, 
pessimist and pantheist though he was, rec- 
ognized this fact, illustrating it by the human 
eye, but he failed to follow his reasoning to 
its logical conclusion. To produce sight in 
a single eye of one human being, there are at 
least ten utilities cooperating together har- 
moniously, namely, the sclerotic, the choroid 
coat, the cornea, the aqueous humour, the iris, 
the crystalline lens, the vitreous humour, the 
retina, the optic nerve, and the brain. Each of 
these might be indefinitely subdivided, and 
really there are more than ten such utilities, 
but for the illustration ten utilities are enough. 

What is the probability of any one of these 
ten utilities happening to be in its proper place 
by chance? Let the unit one stand for cer- 
tainty and let the various degrees of probabil- 
ity be represented by fractions less than one, 
the probability being less as the fraction is 
smaller. No fair-minded man could pretend 
it to be absolutely certain or even very prob- 
able that any one of these ten utilities happens 
to be in its proper place by chance. For the 
purposes of the illustration, let it be assumed 
that the probability of any one of these ten 
utilities happening to be in its proper place by 
chance is very great, say nine-tenths (.9). 

What, then, is the probability of any two 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 13 

of these utilities happening to be together in 
their proper places by chance? According 
to the mathematical law of probabilities the 
answer to this question is .9 x .9, or nine-tenths 
raised to the second power, that is, eighty-one 
hundredths (.81). In this illustration the frac- 
tions will be carried out only two decimal 
places. In the same way, that any three of 
these utilities should happen to be together 
in their proper places by chance the probabil- 
ity would be .9 X .9 X .9, or nine-tenths raised to 
the third power, that is, seventy-two hun- 
dredths (.72) ; and that any four of these util- 
ities should happen to be together in their 
proper places by chance the probability would 
be .9 X .9 X .9 X .9, or nine-tenths raised to the 
fourth power, that is, sixty-four hundredths 
(.64) ; and that any five of these utilities should 
happen to be together in their proper places 
by chance the probability would be .9 x .9 x .9 
X .9 X .9, or nine-tenths raised to the fifth 
power, that is, fifty-seven hundredths (.57) ; 
and that any six of these utilities should hap- 
pen to be together in their proper places by 
chance the probability would be nine-tenths 
raised to the sixth power, that is, fifty-one 
himdredths (.51) ; and that any seven of these 
utilities should happen to be together in their 
proper places by chance the probability would 
be nine-tenths raised to the seventh power, 
that is, forty-five hundredths (.45) ; and that 
any eight of these utilities should happen to 



14 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

be together in their proper places by chance 
the probability would be nine-tenths raised to 
the eighth power, that is, forty hundredths 
(.40) ; and that any nine of these utilities 
should happen to be together in their proper 
places by chance the probability would be 
nine-tenths raised to the ninth power, that is, 
thirty-six hundredths (.36) ; and that all these 
ten utilities should happen by chance to be 
together in their proper places, thus producing 
sight in a single eye of one human being, the 
probability would be nine-tenths raised to the 
tenth power, that is, thirty-two hundredths 
(.32). 

Thus, even on the admission of more than 
would reasonably be asked, it is proved mathe- 
matically to be quite improbable that the 
sight of even a single human eye could happen 
to exist by chance. When, furthermore, it is 
considered that during historic times and pre- 
historic there have lived on the earth billions 
upon billions of human beings, each with two 
eyes, and vastly more animals, and incompar- 
ably more insects, the probability of all the 
sight of the world happening to exist by chance 
will be found mathematically to be thirty-two 
hundredths (.32) raised, say, to the sextiK 
lionth power, more or less, which is so near 
to zero as to make it almost unthinkable that 
all the sight of the world could happen to ex- 
ist by chance. 

Now, sight is only one of innumerable good 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 15 

things, in the animate universe and in the in- 
animate, and each one of these good things is 
produced by many utilities cooperating to- 
gether harmoniously. In addition to all these, 
there are the numberless laws which govern 
the nature and the mode of action of each of 
these good things and of each of these utilities. 
These laws are in themselves utilities of the 
very highest type and cooperate together har- 
moniously in producing and in controlling the 
harmony and the harmonious action of each 
part and of the universal whole. Colloquially 
it might be said that the total number of the 
utilities thus existing and cooperating together 
harmoniously in the universe is infinite: but, 
in considering this subject from the stand- 
point of the senses, the word "Infinite" would 
not be strictly accurate ; for the senses cannot 
cognize infinity. It must be admitted, how- 
ever, that the total number of these utilities 
in the world and throughout the universe is 
indefinitely large. It would be reasonable to 
say that, if one should spend every moment 
not needed for eating, for sleeping, and for 
resting, during a lifetime of one hundred 
years in writing repeatedly, as fast as posible, 
the figure 9, the number so written would 
not begin to approach the real magnitude of 
the total number of such utilities. 

What is the probability of any one of these 
innumerable utilities of the universe happen- 



i6 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

ing to exist and to be in its proper place and 
to cooperate harmoniously with the other utili- 
ties by chance? Let this probability be repre- 
sented by any fraction, however large, less than 
the unit one. Let it be the decimal point fol- 
lowed by the figure 9 repeated a million times. 
What, then, is the probability of all these in- 
numerable utilities of the universe happening 
to exist and to be in their proper places and 
to cooperate together harmoniously by chance? 
If the number of these utilities were admitted 
to be infinite, the answer to this question 
would be this fraction, however large, raised 
to the infinite power, that is, actually zero; 
but, as explained above, such an admission 
from the standpoint of the senses would not be 
strictly accurate. The answer to this ques- 
tion from the standpoint of the senses must 
be this fraction, however large, raised to a 
power indefinitely large, a power represented 
by the total number of all the innumerable 
utilities of the universe, that is, a fraction so 
small as to be practically zero. 

Thus, even on the admission of vastly more 
than could possibly be asked, it is proved 
mathematically to be practically inconceiv- 
able that all the innumerable utilities of the 
universe could happen to exist and to be in 
their proper places and to cooperate together 
harmoniously by chance. 

If not by chance, what then? 



Principles of Religious Philosophy ly 

It is no answer to this question to say, "By 
law**; for the laws governing the nature and 
the mode of action of all the good things and 
of all the utilities in the universe are them- 
selves the very highest types of these utilities 
and like the other utilities need to be explained 
and cannot explain themselves. 

It is no answer to this question to say, "By 
the sum total or totality of all these laws and 
other utilities, often called Nature"; for the 
totality of these laws and other utilities needs 
to be explained just as much as do the single 
utilities and laws composing it, and this total- 
ity cannot explain itself as a whole any more 
than its constituent parts, taken singly, can ex- 
plain themselves. 

It is no answer to this question to say,"By 
a universal Force pervading and controlling 
all"; for such a Force would be the greatest 
of all the utilities and, if it explained all the 
other utilities, the final explanation would 
have to be gone over again, for this Force it- 
self would have to be explained and the same 
line of reasoning would prove mathematically 
that this universal Force, controlling the na- 
ture and the mode of action of all the laws and 
other utilities of the universe, could not by 
any possibility practically conceivable happen 
to exist and to act by chance. 

To the question "If not by chance, what 
then?" there is, therefore, only one possible 
answer, namely, "By controlling Intelligence". 



1 8 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

Is this controlling Intelligence one Mind or 
is it more than one? One Mind alone con- 
trols the nature and the mode of action of all 
the laws and of all the other utilities which, as 
a whole, exist and cooperate together harmoni- 
ously throughout the universe; for, obvious- 
ly, more than one controlling Mind would 
mean chaos, instead of the existing order. 

To control harmoniously an indefinitely 
large universe, this one Mind must possess in- 
definitely great wisdom and power. Having 
such wisdom this one Mind must know all 
that is useful and true and beautiful and good 
and perfect and, having such power, must 
possess all these to an indefinitely great ex- 
tent. 

It may be objected that the same line of 
reasoning would tend to prove the existence of 
a Mind or minds producing evil; since on all 
sides are seen sin, sickness, sorrow, pain, 
cruelty, injustice, oppression, and destruction. 
Yes; but such Mind or minds must be far in- 
ferior in every way to the one controlling Mind : 
for always evil is only, as it were, the passing 
discord which is merged and lost in the ulti- 
mate and prevailing harmony, which is the 
ruling order of the universe as a whole. 

From the standpoint of the senses alone, it 
cannot be denied that the smaller, the weaker, 
and the less intelligent are sacrificed for the 
good of the larger, the stronger, and the more 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 19 

intelligent, and that the good of the universe 
as a whole involves individual tragedies. 

This in a general way is all that can be 
proved and known with mathematical certain- 
ty concerning the existence and the nature of 
God from the standpoint of the senses alone. 
Is this the limit of human knowledge? Is 
the human reason limited to that which the 
senses show? 

II 

Reason is the highest faculty of man. No 
conservative religionist refusing to accept the 
higher criticism of modem scholarship can 
read his most sacred books, even in the orig- 
inal language, without the use of reason to 
determine the meaning of the words and their 
relation to one another. No man can hon- 
estly accept that which is contrary to his rea- 
son and every man, to be honest with him- 
self, must accept that which his reason ap- 
proves. 

The human mind is wholly finite. So, too, 
is the human reason, the highest faculty of 
the human mind. Nevertheless, the human 
reason can get finite glimpses of infinity, can, 
as it were, see the Infinite dimly and yet suf- 
ficiently to learn and to know the laws of in- 
finity with mathematical certainty and to ap- 
ply those laws in finite practical affairs and 
in matters of human interest. For example, 
it is only by the use of infinity that the most 



20 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

complicated and important problems of as- 
tronomy can be solved, as well as all the other 
problems whose solution requires the use of 
higher mathematics. 

It has been objected that "Mathematics is 
not practical", that "It is only the vagaries, 
the figments, of the imagination". To this 
the answer is conclusive. The successful man 
of business plans his transactions and keeps 
careful and full accounts of all his business 
matters along mathematical lines. If he did 
not do so, he would not be practical and would 
be likely to make a business failure. Mathe- 
matics, though it may not be recognized, 
enters into all the practical affairs of life, 
even the most material, and that man only 
is practical who figures matters out along 
mathematical lines. A practical man may not 
be able to read nor to write, but he must 
know how to figure and to measure, or he 
must hire some one else to do his figuring and 
measuring for him. No practical man, none 
but a visionary theorist, could for a moment 
imagine mathematics not to be practical. 

In lower mathematics there enter into the 
problems and equations only finite quantities, 
for example, ten, one hundred, one thousand, 
one billion, one decillion, and so on, that is, 
quantities which are limited, which have an 
end. In higher mathematics there enters into 
the problems and equations infinity, the Infi- 
nite, that which is unlimited, which has no end. 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 21 

The boys used to say, "Mathematics is not 
accurate, one can prove anything by mathe- 
matics. For example, infinity plus eight equals 
infinity plus twenty-five: subtract infinity and 
the result is, eight equals twenty-five". This 
was the mistake not of mathematics, but of 
the boys. They had a problem in higher mathe- 
matics and they applied the rules of lower 
mathematics. It was as if a child having a 
problem in division should apply to it the 
rules of addition, which of course would give 
a wrong result. In reality, neither eight nor 
twenty-five add anything to infinity. In the 
presence of infinity both eight and twenty-five 
are zero. Therefore, on subtracting infinity, 
the mathematical result would be, zero equals 
zero, which is correct. 

In higher mathematics the rule is that when 
infinity, the Infinite, enters into any problem 
or equation it nullifies every finite quantity 
in that problem or equation, so that the correct 
result is reached only by cancelling or by sub- 
stituting zero for every such finite quantity 
in the problem or equation. 

The reason for this rule is clear and can 
be explained in simple language. The In- 
finite has no end nor limit and hence the 
addition of any finite quantity, however large, 
cannot extend a limit which does not exist, 
cannot increase the Infinite, that which by its 
very nature is unlimited. The finite quan- 
tity, however large, so added is merged and 



2.2 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

lost in the Infinite. For the same reason, any 
finite quantity, however large, can be subtract- 
ed from infinity, and infinity can be multi- 
plied or divided by any finite quantity, however 
large, and in such cases infinity remains un- 
changed, the same as before. When, therefore, 
the finite touches the Infinite, the finite van- 
ishes, becomes zero, is nullified, is annihilated. 
This, then, is the mathematical law of the rela- 
tion between the Infinite and the finite, namely, 
the annihilation of the finite by the Infinite, 
whenever the finite comes into touch with the 
Infinite. 

From the standpoint of the senses alone 
the human mind cannot prove with absolute 
certainty the existence of the Infinite. Na- 
ture, indeed, points to the Infinite, and by a 
scientific study of Nature from the standpoint 
of the senses the human mind is able to prove 
that there must and does exist one controlling 
Intelligence, and that this controlling Intel- 
ligence or Mind must be indefinitely great and 
must possess indefinitely great wisdom and 
power and must possess all that is useful and 
true and beautiful and good and perfect to an 
indefinitely great extent. From the stand- 
point of the senses alone the imiverse cannot 
be known to be infinite and therefore from 
the standpoint of the senses alone the one con- 
trolling Mind cannot be proved to be infinite, 
although the evidence would naturally lead to 
this conclusion. It remains for the human 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 23 

reason, man's highest faculty, to prove that 
the Infinite actually exists and can be used in 
practical, finite, human affairs and in matters 
of human interest, and to prove also the mathe- 
matical law of the relation between the In- 
finite and the finite. The Infinite being greater 
than all else must be the one controlling In- 
telligence to which Nature points, but which 
reason alone can prove to be infinite. 

From the standpoint, then, of those who 
recognize only that which the senses show 
and which reason approves, the conclusion is 
unavoidable that supreme throughout the uni- 
verse is the one controlling Intelligence or 
Mind; that this Mind is infinitely great, in- 
finitely wise, infinitely powerful, possessing 
to an infinite extent all that is useful, true, 
beautiful, good, and perfect; that this infinite 
Mind, commonly called God, is infinitely in- 
finite, that is, infinite in an infinite number of 
ways; and that the technical, mathematical 
law of the relation between the Infinite and 
the finite is the annihilation of the finite by 
the Infinite, whenever the finite comes into 
touch with the Infinite. 

To this it may be objected that the Infinite 
has not a real existence, is not an actual en- 
tity, but is only a figment of the imagination, a 
creation of the human mind; that the human 
mind builds an imaginary structure, a mental 
concept, calls it the Infinite, calls it God, 
ascribes to this God wonderful powers and ab- 



24 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

solute laws, and then, by submitting itself to 
this God and to these powers and to these 
laws, puts itself voluntarily under the control 
of that God and of those powers and of those 
laws which it has itself created and which are 
therefore essentially finite. 

The answer to this objection is clear and 
conclusive. If one should spend every moment 
not needed for eating, for sleeping, and for 
resting, during a lifetime of one hundred years 
in writing repeatedly, as fast as possible, the 
figure 9, and if the niunber so written should 
be raised to the decillionth power, and if this 
product should then be raised to the decillionth 
power, the final result would be a quantity 
about as large as the human mind can create, 
and if not, let it be made as large as may be 
possible. To this large quantity add the unit 
one. The large quantity does not annihilate 
the unit one, but adds to it; and the unit one 
adds to the large quantity. All that the finite 
mind can create adds to the finite and cannot 
annihilate the finite, its creator. Contrary to 
this, the Infinite actually does by its essential 
nature, as proved mathematically, annihilate 
the finite. Therefore the Infinite is not the 
creature of the finite, human mind, but is in 
deed and in truth snii generis, an absolutely 
self-existent entity. 

This finite universe, including man, who is 
equally finite with the rest, is, therefore, in 
the midst of infinity. Ever3rwhere present is 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 25 

the Infinite, whose overwhelming power noth- 
ing can withstand, and whose unchanging law 
is the annihilation of the finite by the Infinite, 
whenever the finite comes into touch with the 
Infinite. Man, though finite, has learned how 
to apply and thus to use the infinite law of an- 
nihilation practically in the various mathe- 
matical sciences, to the untold benefit of him- 
self and of the world. May it not also be pos- 
sible for him, with advantage to himself and 
to the world, to learn how to apply and thus 
to use the infinite law of annihilation prac- 
tically in all the affairs and interests of human 
life? 

It might seem desirable thus to be freed 
from the bad and harmful things of this world, 
but how about the good and useful things, 
which are just as finite, and how about man 
himself, who is equally finite? Before going 
further, the wise man will insist upon knowing 
with absolute certainty just how this infinite 
law of annihilation will work in practical, daily 
life and just what will be the ultimate result 
for the man himself and for the world. 

Suppose you are looking at a beautiful spot 
in the landscape, far away. You see a beauti- 
ful picture, but the glimpse is partial, limited, 
imperfect, and inaccurate. Suppose you ap- 
proach a mile nearer the beautiful spot. The 
first imperfect picture is lost and gone, but you 
have, instead, a larger and clearer picture, 
though the glimpse is still partial, limited, 



26 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

imperfect, and inaccurate. Suppose you 
continue to approach the beautiful spot. You 
will have a succession of disappearing pictures 
and of dawning pictures, each glimpse being 
larger and clearer than the one before, though 
all are partial, limited, imperfect, and inaccu- 
rate, until finally you reach the beautiful spot 
itself, whereupon the last imperfect picture 
vanishes and you see the beautiful spot itself, 
just as it is and just as it really has been all 
the time. A man who has been constantly at 
the beautiful spot has known nothing of the 
imperfect pictures which you have seen from a 
distance; and when you reach the beautiful 
spot, you see it as he has always seen it. 

This process has been technically and actu- 
ally the annihilation of one imperfect picture 
after another, as you approach nearer and 
nearer the beautiful spot, and the ultimate an- 
nihilation of the last imperfect picture upon 
your finally reaching the beautiful spot itself. 
Practically, however, it has not seemed to you 
to be a process of annihilation, and to you the 
first imperfect picture has not seemed to be an- 
nihilated and its place to be filled by a new 
and clearer picture of the same beautiful spot, 
nor have the subsequent imperfect pictures 
seemed to you to be annihilated and their 
places in turn to be filled by a succession of 
new and clearer pictures, all imperfect, of the 
same beautiful spot, nor has the last imperfect 
picture seemed to you to be annihilated and its 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 27 

place in turn to be filled by the realities of the 
beautiful spot itself; for there is an identity 
running through all these imperfect pictures, 
each being a picture of one and the same beau- 
tiful spot, so that each larger and clearer pic- 
ture does not seem to you to be a new picture, 
but, rather, to be the last previous picture 
made larger and clearer by your approaching 
still nearer the beautiful spot itself. Hence 
the first imperfect picture, as you continue to 
approach the beautiful spot, would seem to you 
not to be annihilated and lost, but to grow 
gradually and constantly larger and clearer, 
until, when you finally reach the beautiful spot 
itself, the last imperfect picture would seem to 
you to be merged in and to become one with 
the reality. The annihilation, therefore, would 
not be recognized by you as annihilation, but 
would seem to be and for all practical pur- 
poses would be a process o£ gradual growth or 
progress from the imperfect to the perfect. 

In like manner, from a distance not physi- 
cally but mentally infinite, man being himself 
finite in this finite universe in the midst of 
infinity has and can have only partial, imper- 
fect, inaccurate, and finite glimpses or pictures 
of the infinite universe and of its infinitely in- 
finite Creator. 

Each and all of the useful, the true, the 
beautiful, and the good things of this finite uni- 
verse, including each and all human beings, 
who are just as finite as the rest, are only par- 



28 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

tial, imperfect, inaccurate, and finite glimpses 
or pictures of some of the useful, the true, 
the beautiful, the good, and the perfect things, 
their infinite counterparts, of the infinite uni- 
verse. The word "Counterpart" does not here 
imply even the slightest resemblance in ap- 
pearance nor in function, but rather the rela- 
tion of that which is only partially and im- 
perfectly good and useful standing in the finite 
universe for that which in the infinite uni- 
verse is infinitely useful, true, beautiful, good, 
and perfect; for, even as the image on the 
retina is inverted and as in the optic nerve and 
in the brain it cannot be recognized at all, so 
finite glimpses or pictures of the infinite imi- 
verse and of its infinitely infinite Creator are 
likely to be distorted out of all apparent re- 
semblance to their infinite originals. It is 
these infinite counterparts and the infinite uni- 
verse itself which alone can be created and 
known by the infinitely Infinite, the one con- 
trolling Mind. 

The one controlling Mind, being in an in- 
finity of ways infinitely infinite and infinitely 
perfect, cannot, either directly or indirectly, be 
the Source of anything which is not infinite and 
perfect. Hence the bad and harmful things of 
the finite universe can have no counterparts in 
the infinite universe nor in its infinitely infinite 
Creator, but have their origin solely in finite 
law and their existence solely in the finite uni- 
verse. In the actual order of finite evolution 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 29 

and development it is logically immaterial 
whether the finite good and useful things and 
the finite bad and harmful things appear to- 
gether in the beginning or whether one pre- 
cedes the other ; for there is a law of the finite 
whereby opposites necessarily imply each 
other. Thus, for example, to the human mind 
the useful implies the harmful, and the harm- 
ful implies the useful; the true implies the 
false, and the false implies the true; the beau- 
tiful implies the ugly, and the ugly implies the 
beautiful; the good implies the bad, and the 
bad implies the good ; and so on, in minute and 
indefinite detail: so that the finite bad and 
harmful things exist only as the opposites of 
the finite good and useful things; while the 
finite good and useful things are not only the 
opposites of the finite bad and harmful things, 
but they are also partial 'and imperfect 
glimpses or pictures of some of the useful, the 
true, the beautiful, the good, and the perfect 
things in the infinite universe, which are their 
infinite counterparts. That which is infinite can 
by its very nature have no possible opposite. 

If, then, to follow the analogy of one ap- 
proaching from a distance a beautiful spot in 
the landscape, you, a finite human being, learn 
how to approach and actually do approach the 
Infinite, just in proportion as you do so, the 
infinite law of annihilation will cause the bad 
and harmful things of your finite life to fade 
away until, one after another, they all disap- 



30 Principles of Religions Philosophy 

pear, leaving ultimately only their opposites, 
the finite good and useful things. Moreover, 
just in proportion as you approach the Infinite, 
all your imperfect glimpses or pictures of the 
Infinite, all the good and useful things of your 
finite life, under the action of the infinite law 
of annihilation, are lost and gone, but you 
have, instead, in each instance, larger 'and 
clearer glimpses or pictures of the Infinite, bet- 
ter and more useful finite things, and these, as 
you continue to approach the Infinite, will be 
followed, in each instance, by a succession of 
disappearing pictures and of dawning pictures, 
by larger and clearer glimpses or pictures of 
the Infinite, by better and more useful finite 
things, each and all being, of course, partial, 
imperfect, inaccurate, and finite, even at the 
best, until finally you reach the Infinite, where- 
upon your last imperfect glimpses or pictures 
of the Infinite, even the best and most useful 
things of the finite, are lost and gone, but, in- 
stead, you have, in each instance, their infinite 
counterparts, the infinitely useful, true, beauti- 
ful, good, and perfect things of the infinite uni- 
verse, which now you see no longer dimly, as 
from a distance, but face to face, as the Infinite 
has always seen them, infinitely useful, true, 
beautiful, good, perfect, and eternal. 

As in the allegory of one approaching from 
a distance a beautiful spot in the landscape, 
this process has been technically and actually, 
in each instance, the annihilation of one imper- 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 31 

feet picture after another, as you approach 
nearer and nearer the Infinite, and the ulti- 
mate annihilation of the last imperfect picture 
upon your finally reaching the Infinite. Prac- 
tically, however, it has not seemed to you to 
be a process of annihilation, and to you, in 
each instance, the first imperfect glimpse or 
picture of the Infinite, the first good and useful 
thing of the finite, has not seemed to be an- 
nihilated and its place to be filled by a new and 
clearer glimpse or picture of the Infinite, by 
a better and more useful finite thing, nor have 
the subsequent new and clearer glimpses or 
pictures of the Infinite, the subsequent bet- 
ter and more useful things of the finite, seemed 
to you to be annihilated and their places in 
turn to be filled, in each instance, by a succes- 
sion of new and still clearer glimpses or pic- 
tures of the Infinite, of still better arid more 
useful finite things, nor, when finally you reach 
the Infinite, have the last imperfect glimpses 
or pictures of the Infinite, the best and most 
useful things of the finite, seemed to you to 
be annihilated and their places in turn to be 
filled, respectively, by their infinite counter- 
parts, the infinite good and useful things of the 
infinite universe ; for, in each instance, there is 
an identity running through all these imper- 
fect glimpses or pictures of the Infinite, 
through all these finite good and useful things, 
each being, respectively, a glimpse or picture 
of one and the same infinite counterpart, of 



32 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

one and the same infinitely useful, true, beau- 
tiful, good, and perfect thing of the infinite 
universe; so that each larger and clearer 
glimpse or picture of the Infinite, each better 
and more useful thing of the finite, does not 
seem to you to be a new picture, a new good 
and useful thing, but, rather, to be in each in- 
stance the last previous picture, the last pre- 
vious good and useful thing, made larger and 
clearer, better and more useful, by your ap- 
proaching still nearer the Infinite. Hence, in 
each instance, the first imperfect glimpse or 
picture of the Infinite, the first good and use- 
ful thing of the finite, as you continue to ap- 
proach the Infinite, would not seem to you to 
be annihilated and lost, but to grow gradually 
and constantly larger and clearer, better and 
more useful, until, when you finally reach the 
Infinite, it seems to you to be merged in and 
to become one with its infinite counterpart, 
the infinite good and useful thing of the in- 
finite universe. The annihilation, therefore, 
would in no instance be recognized by you as 
annihilation, but would seem to be and for 
all practical purposes would be a process of 
gradual and constant growth or progress from 
the imperfect and finite to the infinite and per- 
fect. 

The questions may arise, "If the Infinite, 
being without limit, is everywhere present, and 
if, being supreme, its infinite law of annihila- 
tion cannot be resisted, how can the finite ex- 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 33 

ist even for a moment, and, on the other hand, 
how can the Infinite annihilate the finite, when 
the finite is unknown to the Infinite?" 

Suppose you are in a light room with your 
eyes shut. Actually all is light, and yet you 
are really in darkness. The explanation is 
that you are entirely out of touch with the light 
and thus are not getting the benefit of the 
light. If you learn how to put yourself into 
touch with the light, and if thus by opening 
your eyes you make yourself receptive to the 
action of the light, then the light by its un- 
changing law annihilates your darkness and 
at the same time supplies to you the same light 
which has been with you all the time, though 
you knew it not. It is because the light can- 
not know nor tolerate darkness that all dark- 
ness is annihilated just in proportion as it 
comes, partly or wholly, into touch with the 
light. 

So human beings in the midst of infinity can 
be and remain finite only as they are out of 
touch with the Infinite. It is because the In- 
finite cannot know nor tolerate the finite that 
the finite is annihilated just in proportion as 
it comes, partly or wholly, into touch with the 
Infinite. Here let it be remembered that this 
law of infinite annihilation has been explained 
to mean, not only the vanishing out of human 
life of all that is bad and harmful, but also 
the growth and progress of all that is useful, 
true, beautiful, and good in human life until 



34 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

every human being shall have attamed infinity 
and perfection, which is the ultimate goal of 
each and of all. 

The gradual and constant growth and prog- 
ress of the human mind does not affect the in- 
dividual identity of the finite man any more 
than does the gradual and constant change of 
the body. 

Man, though finite, is able to use the Infinite, 
not as he would use a sword by exerting his 
own strength, his own intelligence, and his 
own will, but, rather, as he would use light 
and electricity by putting himself into such re- 
lation with these that they act upon him or 
for him directly by a force and law all their 
own. 

Every human being is wholly finite; but he 
has an infinite destiny. Ultimately every hu- 
man being will attain infinity and perfection, by 
the operation of the infinite law of annihilation, 
whereby the evil in him is destroyed and 
whereby the man himself, thus purified, grows 
and progresses and ultimately attains the goal 
of infinity and perfection. Death does not in- 
terfere with this progress ; for every human be- 
ing sees the Infinite, though it be but dimly, 
and is partially in touch with the Infinite, 
though it be but in a very limited degree, and 
he cannot escape, nothing can separate him, 
from the partial, and ultimately from the full, 
operation of the infinite law of annihilation, 
which is the law of the Infinite, the law of 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 35 

God. How long it will take before the ulti- 
mate goal of infinity and perfection can be 
reached, either universally or in any particular 
instance, no man can tell. 

Meanwhile, until this ultimate goal is at- 
tained, each human being is surrounded by 
finite forces of evil and by finite forces of good. 
To overcome, within and around him, the 
finite forces of evil, whether mental, moral, or 
physical, the wise man will use the finite 
forces of good which may be within his reach, 
so far as they may be needed. In addition to 
this, and even more earnestly, he will, so far 
as he may be able, seek and use the help of 
the Infinite, not only to attain his ultimate 
goal of infinity and perfection, but also to over- 
come, within and around him, the finite forces 
of evil, whether mental, moral, or physical, 
and to improve the finite good and useful 
things already possessed, and to attain other 
finite good and useful things not yet possessed. 

The wise man always uses for any purpose 
the best means at his disposal; and hence he 
will always seek and use the help of the In- 
finite, so far as he may be able to attain it, 
and he will also, so far as they may be needed, 
use the best finite forces of good which may be 
within his reach. 

Let it be distinctly understood that the use 
of finite forces of good should not interfere in 
the least with seeking and using the help of 
the Infinite; for, as above explained, the finite 



36 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

good and usefiil things are human glimpses of 
the Infinite. Nevertheless, the Infinite does 
not act through the medium of the finite nor 
does the Infinite use one finite person or thing 
as an avenue or channel through which to 
reach any other finite person or thing ; for the 
relation between the Infinite and the finite is 
annihilation. The Infinite acts upon the finite 
directly, only directly, and never through any 
finite medium, avenue, nor channel. 

Yet it has been asked: "Are not the good 
man's life and achievements of some value to 
himself, to his fellows, and to the world, and 
are not his good deeds known and rewarded 
by his Father in heaven, and is not the good 
man doing in a humble way the will of his 
heavenly Father, and is he not in his life work- 
ing out the finite details of those eternal pur- 
poses which He who knows all has planned 
from the beginning?" 

This is a double, a triple, a quadruple ques- 
tion and cannot be answered by a single word, 
"Yes" or "No". 

The law of God is an infinite and every- 
where present force, a beneficent and over- 
whelming power, drawing all men, as above 
explained, to their ultimate goal, where all 
things and all men are infinite and perfect. 
This infinite and perfect goal, the infinite and 
perfect universe, the infinite and perfect men, 
and the infinitely infinite God, all these are 
now seen by human beings dimly, only, as it 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 37 

were, from a distance, and not, therefore, as 
real and actual, but only as ideal. To God, 
however, the infinite and the perfect are now 
and eternally the real and the actual. When 
human beings finally reach their ultimate goal, 
where all things and all men are infinite and 
perfect, then, and only then, will they, too, see 
the infinite and the perfect no longer as from 
a distance, but face to face, no longer as only 
ideal, but as the real and the actual. 

God's infinite law of annihilation is over- 
whelming, nothing can withstand it. God be- 
ing everywhere present, there is no place 
where the finite can be otherwise than tem- 
poral; for only that which is infinite and per- 
fect is eternal. As in the presence of the light 
the darkness vanishes and, behold, all is light, 
so in the omnipresence of the Infinite the finite 
vanishes and, behold, all is infinite. It is be- 
cause the light cannot tolerate nor recognize 
darkness that the darkness vanishes in the 
presence of the light. It is because the In- 
finite cannot tolerate nor recognize the finite 
that in the omnipresence of the Infinite the 
finite vanishes. The light is a law of annihila- 
tion to the darkness. The Infinite is a law 
of annihilation to the finite. The finite being, 
therefore, essentially temporal has its only 
hope of immortality in the Infinite. 

In proportion as any human being submits 
himself to the Infinite, in just such proportion 
does he come into closer touch with the In- 



38 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

finite and thus, mentally, morally, and phys- 
ically, more effectively under the infinite guid- 
ance, control, and protection of almighty God, 
whereby the bad and harmful things, both 
within and without, are overcome, and where- 
by the good and useful things already pos- 
sessed become better and more useful, and 
whereby new, still better, and still more use- 
ful finite things not yet possessed nor even 
seen are discovered and attained, imtil, finally, 
he awakes out of the finite and becomes in- 
finite and perfect. So beneficent are the work- 
ings of God's infinite law in finite life that 
human beings may naturally and rationally 
look upon God as their heavenly Father, whose 
law means the final salvation, the ultimate 
infinity and perfection, of each and of all. 

Whoever, in all the phases of his life, in 
business, in society, in the home, wherever he 
goes, whatever he does, thus lives his life more 
closely in touch with and more fully in sub- 
mission to the Infinite, will be better able 
to seek and to find for himself and for his 
fellows the infinite benefits of God's unchang- 
ing, eternal, unerring, and unfailing law, and 
to teach others how to do the same. Such a 
man will leave the finite world better and hap- 
pier because he has lived here, and will have 
done his little part in hastening the day when 
all human beings will have attained their final 
goal of infinity and perfection, where in deed 
and in truth they will at last in the infinite 



Principles of Religious Philosophy 39 

universe be doing the will and carrying out 
the purposes of God. 

It remains here to consider whether, either 
at death or at the final attainment of his ulti- 
mate goal of infinity and perfection, man will 
lose his personal consciousness and his con- 
scious identity, thus becoming an unconscious 
intelligence, an unconscious mental force or en- 
ergy; and also whether God, the one control- 
ling Mind, the infinitely Infinite, is an un- 
conscious Intelligence, an unconscious men- 
tal Force or Energy, without personal con- 
sciousness and without conscious identity. 

If personal consciousness and conscious 
identity are bad and harmful, the answer to 
both these questions must be in the affirma- 
tive, while, on the other hand, if personal 
consciousness and conscious identity are good 
and useful, the answer to both these ques- 
tions must be in the negative: for, under the 
infinite law of annihilation, every human being 
must ultimately lose all that is bad and harmful 
in his finite life, while everything that is good 
and useful in his finite life must grow and 
progress, must become better and more use- 
ful, until it becomes infinitely useful and good 
and perfect; and the infinitely Infinite essen- 
tially possesses nothing that is bad and harm- 
ful, but possesses in an infinite degree all that 
is useful, true, beautiful, good, and perfect. 

Are personal consciousness and conscious 
identity, therefore, bad and harmful or good 



40 Principles of Religious Philosophy 

and useful? The ordinary, normal human be- 
ing would prefer to lose everything else rather 
than to lose his personal consciousness and his 
conscious identity; but, it must be admitted, 
there are those who are so overwhelmed by a 
sense of the prevalence, the power, and the 
permanence of evil that they lose sight of all 
else, and to them, therefore, consciousness 
seems to be the greatest of evils, from which 
their only hope of escape is in the heaven of 
blissful unconsciousness. 

When, however, it is once known and real- 
ized that everywhere present is the one con- 
trolling Mind, the infinitely Infinite, whose in- 
finite law of annihilation not only destroys all 
that is bad and harmful, but also causes every- 
thing that is useful, true, beautiful, and good 
to grow, to progress, to improve, and ulti- 
mately to become infinite and perfect and 
eternal, thus making the evil essentially tem- 
poral and the good universally eternal, with this 
knowledge no sane man can fail to recognize 
personal consciousness and conscious identity 
as being preeminently good and useful, and 
thus as being permanently essential to every 
man and as being eternally essential to the 
perfection of God. 



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